Buying a used car abroad: what to check before you commit

Short answer: before you pay a deposit for a car in another country, answer two questions separately. Is this the right car? Check its identity, the seller, its history and its condition. Can you bring it home and register it at a total cost that still beats a local car? Check VAT, documents, the trip home and your own country's registration charges. A clean history check does not answer the second question, and a low price does not answer the first.

This guide covers the common case: you live in one EU country and buy a used car from a seller in another. If the car is outside the EU (including Great Britain, Norway or Switzerland), also read the non-EU branch. Registration, inspection and tax rules are national: use this guide as the order of work, then confirm the specifics with your own authorities. Two example routes show how the checks change for Belgium to the Netherlands and Germany to Lithuania.

The eight checks at a glance

1. Record four facts: where the car is sold, where it is registered now, where you will register it, and who exactly is selling.
2. Prove it is the car the papers describe, and that the seller may sell it.
3. Get your destination's document list before you agree to buy.
4. Have it inspected independently before you book transport.
5. Work out VAT with the new/used test and the seller type.
6. Plan the route home: plates and insurance valid in every country you cross.
7. Fill in the landed-cost sheet and compare it with a local equivalent.
8. Make a stop/go decision, pay safely, then collect the handover pack.

The landed-cost and document worksheet totals your figures in whole euros and prints on A4 (also as CSV).

1. Record four facts: where it is sold, where it is registered, where it is going, who sells

Almost every later answer depends on these four facts:

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A dealer can sell a car in one country that is still registered in another. If so, confirm in writing who handles deregistration or export paperwork and which authority can issue plates valid for your trip.

Business or private seller: what changes

Consumer rights depend on whether the seller acts as a trader, not on whether it is VAT-registered. A car dealer is normally both; ask for its VAT number for the invoice.

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New for contracts made from 31 July 2026: if a dealer fixes a fault by repair, the liability period is extended once by 12 months, and before the remedy the dealer must tell you that you may choose repair or replacement and about that extension (Directive (EU) 2024/1799, Art. 16 and 21). Countries without fixed liability periods may give equivalent protection another way. Ask the dealer in writing which period applies to this car under the law governing the contract. For a dispute with a dealer in another EU country, the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) can help.

Who exactly is selling?

Fraudsters send photos of an ID card and the car's papers to build trust; ECC France warns that an emailed ID copy may belong to an earlier victim. Before any money moves, check that these all point to the same person or business:

• the person you meet and the seller named in the contract;
• for a business, a registered name, address and company or VAT number you can look up;
• the holder or owner on the registration certificate, or their written authority if someone else sells (an agent, a relative, a dealer on commission);
• the holder of the bank account you are asked to pay.

2. Prove it is the car the papers describe

Before you travel, ask for clear photos of the VIN on the car and of the registration certificate. EU certificates use harmonised codes (Directive 1999/37/EC, Annex I), so the same fields appear in any language:

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The certificate points to the seller as owner only if C.2 names them or C.4 shows (a). If C.2 names someone else, C.4 shows (b) or (c), or there is no owner field at all, ask for proof of ownership or authority to sell: the seller's own purchase invoice, written authority from the owner, or a release from a finance or leasing company. Holding the papers and a matching VIN does not prove it.

Then ask: which countries has this car been registered in, and when? Official records are kept country by country, so a check in the current country does not cover years spent elsewhere. Our guides for Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the UK and cars with a US history explain each official source. Where no register is open to you, the seller's papers are the evidence: earlier registration documents, inspection reports and service invoices.

Where OdoTrace fits, before you travel

Enter the VIN in the free OdoTrace vehicle check; there is no account. Before you spend anything on travel, it gives you one starting point:

• what the VIN decodes to, to compare with the advert and the certificate;
• official odometer readings from supported sources, matched by VIN: UK MOT history, Czech register and inspection records (for the dates loaded) and New York DMV inspections (last five years). Not every source is available for every check. Readings that come back are listed in date order with their source, and every source shows its own status, so you can tell one that found nothing from one that couldn't be checked. A possible rollback is flagged only when a later official reading is strictly lower than an earlier one (methodology). Our guide to what a VIN check can tell you explains how to read each record;
• recall campaigns for the decoded make, model and year, to ask a dealer whether this VIN is affected and repaired;
• country checks: choose Importing a car, then each country the car has been registered in, one at a time:
  • UK: MOT readings by plate; confirm the plate belongs to this car.
  • Netherlands: the register's odometer judgement and inspection results by Dutch plate, not dated readings.
  • Denmark: inspection reports by VIN, when that service is available.
  • Many others, Belgium and Lithuania among them: a link to the official check we know; some are paid, need a local login, or show only insurance or theft status.
  • Anywhere else, Germany included: which papers to ask the seller for;
• tax estimates: with Lithuania or Estonia as destination, a registration tax or vehicle tax estimate.

It does not identify the seller, prove ownership, confirm the car has no accident damage, approve registration or calculate every country's costs. An empty result is a missing record, not a clean history (coverage).

Worked example: a timeline that needs an answer (fictional)

A car is advertised with 96,000 km on the dashboard. The seller supplies an inspection report from its first country showing 104,300 km two years ago; the current country's inspection last year shows 88,900 km. EU roadworthiness certificates record the odometer reading where available (Directive 2014/45/EU, Annex II), so both are official records. A paper copy can be altered, so where you can, confirm the seller's report with the station or register that issued it. Check the unit on each (1 mile = 1.609 km); here both say km.

Today's dashboard is 8,300 km lower than the official reading from two years ago, and last year's reading is 15,400 km below that same reading. Mileage cannot go down. Ask for the original reports and any instrument-replacement records; a typing error at an inspection needs documentary proof, not the seller's word. OdoTrace flags this automatically only when both readings come from sources it can read; compare readings on papers by hand, as our mileage-history guide shows.

3. Get your destination's document list before you agree to buy

This is the step people skip. Ask your registration authority what it needs for this car, from this country, before you sign. Your Europe lists the documents commonly asked for and warns that some countries require more.

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Ask your registration authority, in writing if you can:

• Which documents do you need for a used car registered in [registration country] and bought in [purchase country]?
• Will you accept its current inspection certificate, or does it need a new test or identity check?
• Which registration, environmental or vehicle taxes apply, and on what basis (CO₂, engine, age, value)?
• How long can it be used on foreign or temporary plates after I bring it in?

4. Have it inspected before you book transport

Arrange an independent inspection in the purchase country, at a garage you choose rather than one the seller suggests. Ask the inspector to compare the VIN and plates with the documents, look for signs of accident repair, and note warning lights, tyres, brakes and corrosion. Get the result in writing. If the seller will not allow an inspection, treat that as an answer. Repaired damage may not appear in any record; what to check when the history report is clean covers what an inspector can find, and our printable used-car checklist covers the viewing.

A current inspection certificate may help at registration, within limits. When a car is re-registered from another EU country, the destination must recognise that country's roadworthiness certificate if it is still valid under the destination's own testing intervals, and may verify it if in doubt (Directive 2014/45/EU, Art. 8(3); some motorcycle categories are excluded). It says nothing about the car's condition today, and your authority may still carry out other registration checks.

5. Work out VAT before you negotiate

For VAT, a car counts as new if it is supplied within six months of first entry into service OR has travelled no more than 6,000 km (VAT Directive 2006/112/EC, Art. 2(2)(b)). It is used only when both thresholds are exceeded. A three-month-old car with 9,000 km is still "new" for VAT.

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Source: Your Europe, VAT when buying or selling a car. For a used car from a dealer, compare the final price with home prices and ask for an invoice showing how VAT was treated; dealers in second-hand goods may use a margin scheme, with VAT on their margin and not listed separately. Your Europe's refund route is only for new cars taxed twice (claim from the seller first, then the purchase country's tax authority), not for a private buyer of a used car. The supply date can be the order or the invoice date, depending on the country.

VAT is one line. Registration taxes, environmental charges and road tax are national: ask your authority for the figure for this car's emissions, age and fuel.

6. Plan the route home: plates and insurance for every country

Your Europe tells of a driver fined because the temporary plates were valid only where issued. It also mentions towing behind an insured, registered vehicle; whether that is allowed is set by each country's road rules, so check every country on the route.

7. Fill in the landed-cost sheet

Compare the landed cost, everything until the car is registered and roadworthy at home, with the price of a similar car at home. The figures below are fictional, to show the method, not prices for any country.

Here a €4,500 headline saving shrinks to €220, too small to cover one surprise repair: "probably not worth it", before counting your time or the weaker protection of a private sale. Run your own numbers with real quotes; the worksheet totals them.

8. Make the stop/go decision, then collect the handover pack

Stop, or at least pause, if any of these is unresolved:

• The VIN on the car differs from any document.
• The seller cannot show the original registration certificate (both parts, where issued).
• You cannot confirm who the seller is, or that they own the car or have written authority to sell it.
• The names on the contract, the papers and the bank account do not match, with no written explanation.
• An official odometer reading, or the dashboard, is lower than an earlier official reading, with no documented explanation.
• The car is registered in another country than where it is sold, and nobody has confirmed who handles export or deregistration papers.
• Your registration authority needs an approval, test or document you cannot get.
• The saving is negative, or too small to cover one surprise repair.
• You are asked for a deposit before you have seen the documents or the car.

An unresolved doubt about identity, ownership, money owed or mileage is a reason to pause, not something to price in.

Paying safely

Agree the price, what it includes and any deposit terms in writing first, and pay nothing until you have seen the car, its original papers, the seller's identity and their ownership or written authority to sell (being the named holder is not enough). Pay only into an account in the name of the seller in the contract. If the payee changes, or you are asked to pay a third party, a "trust account" or a transport firm before viewing, stop and verify through a channel you found yourself. Keep a receipt naming the seller and the VIN. No payment method guarantees your money back; ECC Austria prefers methods that allow a chargeback, a possible route rather than a promise. Our used-car checklist lists what to agree before a deposit.

Collect at handover, and check before you pay the balance:

• a contract you understand that names the actual seller and states the VIN, price, date, agreed mileage and disclosed defects (and a dealer's VAT number). Check it does not call you a trader or a dealer sale private; ECC Germany lists such wording used to exclude the warranty;
• a saved copy of the advert and any written promises;
• the original registration certificate (both parts where issued), plus export or deregistration papers where applicable;
• the CoC, if your authority needs it, and the current and earlier inspection certificates;
• service and repair records, recall repair confirmations, and all keys;
• temporary plates and route-wide insurance, if you are driving;
• photos of the odometer, VIN and condition at handover.

Two example routes: what changes by country

Two worked checklists built from official pages checked on 12 November 2026. They show how the checks change on a route; they are not complete national procedures and give no fees or tax amounts.

Example: Belgium to the Netherlands

The car is registered in Belgium when you buy it, and you will register it in the Netherlands.

• Before you travel: ask for the Car-Pass. A used car registered in Belgium must come with a Car-Pass when a dealer or a private person sells it to a private buyer. It may be no more than two months old, lists odometer readings on different dates, and its authenticity can be tested online (FPS Economy, Car-Pass FAQ; Flemish government). A car not registered in Belgium at the time of sale is outside this rule, so a car sold in Belgium on another country's registration needs that country's records instead. Compare the Car-Pass's last reading with the advert and the dashboard. OdoTrace's Belgian country check links Car-Pass.
• At registration: an RDW identification. The RDW registers a car from another EU country after identifying it at one of its inspection stations; bring the complete original foreign registration certificate. A CoC is not mandatory, but its CO₂ value is used to determine the Dutch registration tax (BPM), declared to the Belastingdienst. A still-valid inspection from another EU country can be carried over if you ask (RDW).
• After import: keep the Belgian papers. The RDW's odometer judgement can read "geen oordeel" (no judgement) because a car was imported (RDW), so the Car-Pass and Belgian inspection reports remain its history.

Example: Germany to Lithuania

The car is registered in Germany when you buy it, and you will register it in Lithuania.

• Before you travel: see both German papers. German registration certificates come in two parts, Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and Teil II (FZV §§ 13–14); re-registration needs both. Check the ownership fields as in step 2.
• History: from the seller's papers. OdoTrace has no German official check to link, so ask for the German inspection reports and service invoices, and compare the last German reading with the first reading at home. Of the illogical odometer readings the RDW found on cars imported from Germany into the Netherlands, 92% arose between the last German and first Dutch registration at the start of 2026, and 60% by July (RDW, 28 July 2026).
• Lithuania: cost the tax, then ask Regitra. The car has no Lithuanian history yet, so Lithuanian lookups cannot show its past. Lithuania's registration tax is CO₂-based; our calculator estimates it from the CO₂ figure on the documents (often field V.7, or the CoC). Ask Regitra, the registration authority, which documents it needs for a used car from Germany, whether a Lithuanian technical inspection must come first, and which CO₂ value it will use; it decides the binding amount.

Buying from outside the EU

The steps above still apply, but two questions come first.

1. Customs and import VAT. Your Europe says a car bought outside the EU is subject to customs duty and import VAT, as with other imported goods (source). The duty actually due can depend on origin and trade agreements, so ask your customs authority about this car before you buy.
2. Approval for EU roads. A car built for another market may lack an EU certificate of conformity. Ask your registration authority whether it would need an individual approval or technical changes, and what they cost.

For a car with a US history, see our US-import checking guide.

Common questions

Do I pay VAT on a used car bought from a private seller in another EU country? No, if the car is "used" for VAT: more than six months since first entry into service and more than 6,000 km. Otherwise it is "new" and VAT is due where you register it.

Does a dealer in another EU country have to stand behind a used car? Yes, for faults that existed at delivery and appear within at least two years, or no less than one year for second-hand goods if national law allows and you agreed it. For contracts from 31 July 2026, a repair extends that period once by 12 months, or national law gives equivalent protection. Private sales are not covered.

Is the person named on the registration certificate the owner? Not necessarily. C.1 names the holder. The certificate points to the owner only through C.2, or through C.4 code (a). Otherwise, ask for proof of ownership or written authority to sell.

How do I check the mileage of a car bought in Germany? Ask the seller for the German inspection reports and service invoices, compare their dated readings by hand, and check the last German reading against the dashboard. OdoTrace has no German official check to link; it still decodes the VIN and lists any readings its supported sources return.

Next step

Start from home today: enter the VIN in the free OdoTrace vehicle check, choose Importing a car, compare the decoded details with the advert and the certificate, then choose each country the car has been registered in, one at a time. A mismatch found now costs nothing. Then send your registration authority the questions in step 3.

Prefer to ask an AI assistant? If yours supports custom connectors (Claude, ChatGPT and others; some plans and workspaces restrict them), OdoTrace's free, read-only connector needs no account and can run the decode, mileage and recall checks in the conversation from the VIN, plus a Dutch plate if the car has one. It has no country setting, so use the browser report's country links for other registration countries.

Checked 12 November 2026 against the sources below. This guide explains EU-level rules and a general order of work. National rules vary, so confirm with the relevant authority for your case.

Sources

• Your Europe: Buying or leasing a car in another EU country (last checked by the publisher 21 Sep 2026)
• Your Europe: VAT when buying or selling a car (last checked 21 Sep 2026)
• Your Europe: Car registration documents and formalities (last checked by the publisher 5 Nov 2024)
• European Commission: VAT special schemes (margin scheme for second-hand goods)
• Directive (EU) 2019/771, Articles 10, 11 and 13 (consolidated text of 31 July 2026), as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/1799, Articles 16, 21 and 22
• Council Directive 1999/37/EC, Annex I: registration-certificate codes (consolidated text of 24 March 2022)
• Directive 2014/45/EU, Article 8(3) and Annex II
• Council Directive 2006/112/EC, Article 2(2)(b): new means of transport
• European Consumer Centres: ECC France, car-sale scams; ECC Germany, buying a car abroad; ECC Austria, online fraud in used-car sales
• Route examples: FPS Economy, Car-Pass FAQ (last updated 22 Oct 2026); Flemish government, Car-Pass; RDW, importing a vehicle within Europe, checking the odometer and German odometer readings in the Dutch register (28 July 2026); Germany, Vehicle Registration Ordinance (FZV), §§ 13–14
• OdoTrace: coverage, methodology, Lithuanian registration tax calculator and AI VIN check